Schultz Apparel: The Marta Dress

The Marta dress comes in three options: A, B and C. I had the privilege of testing version A. The same as the gingham version I had initially seen on my search page on instagram. I was beyond excited and had the perfect tester fabric in mind. I used this vintage inspired floral I had picked up at Joann’s when I snuck in to grab some patterns that were on sale. My daughter actually picked it and I just couldn’t say no. A pattern and a fabric that both screamed vintage modern; it was a match made in heaven.

Now let’s talk about design A. It has a button down front, gathered skirt, square neckline and my favourite part, the gathered sleeve. My initial concern for this pattern was the square neckline. Although I’ve been gifted with a larger bust it does not mean I like to show that off. Even when I was making the pattern I didn’t know how much it was going to reveal. It ended up being just the right amount of skin. So if that’s a concern for you at all, you’re totally safe.

Another part of this pattern is there are no skirt pattern pieces. In the instructions it explains how to mark the dimensions straight onto your fabric and also how to adjust it if needed. For mine, I lengthen my skirt by 9”. I like the longer length and it was very easy to make that change. I also added 1.5” in width to both my back and front pattern pieces as I used a smaller seam allowance on the bodice size. I wanted to give myself a little more room. I actually didn’t end up needing that extra room, so my skirt looked very gathered. So even if you make that adjustment to sew a smaller seam allowance at the sides, I don’t think you need to add width to the skirt (unless you really love that gathered look). The pattern is drafted for someone who is 5’6” so keep that in mind also when playing with your skirt length.

Overall it was a great testing process and I really love my finished product. I can’t wait to make more and especially in gingham. There’s just something so magical about the gingham. The only reason I didn’t was because all my gingham is a 44” width. You do need to use a wider apparel fabric for this pattern, so a 55”+. One last thing, I made the largest size in this pattern so that is one of the only downsides. I actually didn’t realise initially that I fell into the last size range but I wanted to make note of that for anyone who is considering this pattern and may have missed that also.

A big congratulations to Amalie on a beautiful pattern and I look forward to seeing the other variations once it’s released.